


Incomplete

by bucketsofgiggles



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Gen, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Identity Reveal, Multiple POV's, Sorry Adrien, Spoilers for all of Season 1, and really just shitty parenting in general, because gabriel agreste, not season 2 compliant due to fic being started before that season, now its not, parental neglect, this was dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2018-07-19 13:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7363141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bucketsofgiggles/pseuds/bucketsofgiggles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU-Canon Divergence after "Simon Says". Not compliant with season 2.</p><p>Gabriel Agreste quickly realizes that the ring he spotted on his son's finger is a Miraculous, and decides he must have it. Even if it means stealing from his son. And leaving Adrien to deal with the fall out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Moonlight shone over Paris, giving the city of lights a soft glow as most of its denizens slept. But, in a mansion close to the city center, Gabriel Agreste stood in darkness outside his son’s bedroom, fists clenched and shaking with hesitation. 

He’d spotted the ring on his son, Adrien, a few days ago, and after a few days of research and deliberation, he was almost certain it was the Black Cat Miraculous. He hadn’t gotten a long look at it, but it matched the picture in his book of all the different Miraculouses. And Adrien hadn’t given him an answer when he asked where it came from. Gabriel certainly hadn’t given it to him, and he couldn’t recall any reason why Adrien would've receive a gift recently. And Adrien didn’t have access to the bank accounts Gabriel set up for him yet, so he couldn’t have boughten it. 

But he couldn’t get past the idea that his son was Chat Noir, the hero he’d been working so hard to defeat. The fact that he’d been trying for months to get the Black Cat Miraculous, only for it to be right under his nose the whole time. That this meant there was a high chance that Ladybug was a classmate of Adrien's. That his son had been fighting and in danger almost daily.

Danger that Gabriel causes.

He pushed that thought out of his mind. There was still a chance that it was just a simple ring, that Adrien had been safe this whole time, that Gabriel was just overreacting. He’d spent weeks focusing on little else but the Miraculouses; his brain might be seeing things that aren’t there. 

He had debated simply asking Adrien for the ring, or perhaps forcing him to hand it over. In fact, he was still debating it. But he wasn’t an idiot, he knew his relationship with his son was distant at best. If Adrien wasn’t Chat Noir, he would just see it as an invasion of his privacy. And if he  _ was _ , he would never just hand it over, and if Gabriel forced it, Adrien would know he was Hawk Moth. Chat Noir or not, Adrien  _ could not _ know what Gabriel had really been up to lately. Not yet, anyway.

He had no other choice. Stealing himself, he opened the door to Adrien’s bedroom, only giving himself enough room to squeeze in, then shut it silently. 

Eyes adjusting slightly to the increased moonlight from the large windows, Gabriel looked over to where Adrien slept. Finding him looking at his son’s back, he silently crept around to the other side of the bed. He took a moment to pause and look at his son, sound asleep. He had the most beautiful child in all of France, there was no doubt. And he had dealt with so much these past few years, and had handled it all so maturely. His mission as Hawk Moth was as much for Adrien as it was for himself. 

Gabriel’s gaze went to his son’s right hand and quickly found the silver ring, glinting in the moonlight. As carefully as he could, he bent down to reach for it, when a black lump of  something near Adrien’s chest caught his eye. Gabriel recoiled slightly, then tried to get a better look at it, then recoiled again when he realized it was  _ breathing _ . Gabriel adjusted his position to try to get the creature into the light. As he did so, some details on the it began to come into focus. Like it’s tail, and cat ears.

_ The Black Cat Kwami! _ And that meant the ring on Adrien’s finger was the Black Cat Miraculous! The thing Gabriel had been looking for for months, spent multiple Akumas on, always slipping away, and it was now quite literally within his reach. Half of his goal was about to be achieved and he felt… upset.

He  _ had _ been putting his son in danger. All this time, he’d been putting his son’s life at risk.

There was no more hesitation. Gabriel needed to take that Miraculous away from his son  _ now _ . Not only because he needed it to further his own goals, but because his son would not be risking his life  _ anymore _ . Adrien’s safety was of utmost importance. 

Still moving quietly, but with a much greater sense of resolve, Gabriel began to remove the ring from his son’s finger. 

When the ring was about half way off, the Kwami opened it’s eyes, large green orbs meeting Gabriel’s gray. The Kwami began to open it’s mouth, but Gabriel quickly pulled the ring the rest of the way off of Adrien’s finger, and the Kwami disappeared before it could make a sound. 

Shaken at almost being caught, Gabriel’s attention shifted as Adrien began to move in his sleep. Clutching the ring tightly in a fist, he held his breath as Adrien repositioned himself and fell back asleep. Gabriel let out a silent sigh, then quickly left the room as quietly as he had entered. 

He paced down the hallway back to his own bedroom, went inside, and slumped against the door. Opening a shaking fist, he looked down at the small, silver ring in his palm. He had done it. The Black Cat Miraculous was his! The Kwami disappearing had been expected - it happened when a Miraculous user was forcibly separated from their Miraculous - but he knew how to bring it back, once he had the Ladybug earrings. His goals were within reach. 

But the guilt continued to fester in his gut, over taking something of Adrien’s without asking, over the danger he’d been constantly putting his son in, over how Adrien would not understand, not yet, what Gabriel was planning. And Adrien might realize Gabriel had taken the ring, and put the pieces together from there.

He’d have to distance himself further from Adrien. He had been planning on telling Adrien when he had both Miraculouses, when it would be easier to show him what was planning, but he couldn’t afford to have Adrien find out early. He would get the wrong idea, and trying to convince him otherwise would be hard. And then he’d tell Ladybug. 

The theory that Ladybug was a student in Adrien’s class came back. She might been even closer than he realized. Gabriel cursed himself for not learning more about Adrien’s classmates at school.

Whether Adrien knew Ladybug’s civilian identity or not, he could not afford Adrien telling Ladybug his Miraculous was gone. But how was he going to keep Adrien safe, away from Ladybug, and away from Gabriel himself?

An idea suddenly came to him.

Pocketing the ring, he quickly went down to the first floor of the mansion, and headed to where Nathalie lived. Her space was like an apartment built within the mansion, with a full kitchen, living area, separate bedroom, and private bath. Though she was always welcome to use the main dining room and kitchen, and their chefs, Gabriel knew that Nathalie like a space of her own, and cooked as a way of relaxing. He normally didn’t like coming over to her part of the mansion out of respect, but tonight gave him no choice.

He knocked on the front door rapidly. “Nathalie!”

“Coming, Mr. Agreste!” Her muffled voice replied back. A few moments later and the door opened. Her hair was messy and she was still tying her robe on, but her eyes were alert. “Is there some sort of emergency?”

“Not here, but I need to attend to one somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“America.” 

Nathalie blinked at his response. “ _ America _ ? Why are you needed all the way over there?”

“There’s been some sort of emergency regarding my collection for New York City’s upcoming Fashion Week, and apparently only I can take care of it. They want me over there as soon as possible, which is why I have already gotten the jet set up, so you don’t need to worry about that,” He said, as Nathalie began to pull out her tablet. “I’ll be flying over as soon as I finish speaking with you.”

“Will Adrien be coming with you?”

“No, and that’s what I want to speak with you about. You are to stay here and keep an eye on him, and with that, I want him homeschooled until I return to France. He is not to leave the mansion under no circumstances without an escort, and even that should happen sparingly. We can arrange for his fencing and Chinese tutors to come here, like before.”

“Have you told him you’re leaving?”

“No. You can tell him when he wakes up.  _ Do not _ let him convince you to leave. He is to stay here.”

“I understand, Mr. Agreste. Please let me know when you land.”

“Of course. Goodnight Nathalie.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Agreste. And have a safe flight.”

“Thank you,” Gabriel said, and left before Nathalie finished shutting the door. 

He quickly went to the third floor of the mansion, then up the hidden staircase to his butterfly room. He kept a stock of food up there, just in case a situation like this presented himself. And it was a good thing he’d done so. He might be up here for a while. 

“Nooroo!” He called out, and felt a bit better with the source of his power near him. His Kwami came out, and flinched when Gabriel placed the ring on a shelf. 

“Is-is that…?” Nooroo said hesitantly, his voice barely there.

“The Black Cat Miraculous? Yes,” Gabriel ignored the panicked look in Nooroo’s eyes. “It was easier to locate than I suspected. And with Chat Noir out of commission, Ladybug will have to fly solo against my Akuma. It won’t be long before I have hers in my grasp as well!

“Nooroo, transform me!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: Canon is still ambiguous as to whether Mrs. Agreste is dead or missing, so the fic will remain ambiguous as well.

From the moment Adrien woke up he knew something was very wrong.

It started with the hollow feeling in his chest, the idea that something was missing. And then a feeling that his room was bigger, emptier somehow. He’d felt this before, but the last time it had been this strong, it had been when his mother had left.

He sat up, and the feeling grew when the fingers of his right hand felt skin that, for months now, had been covered in metal. He ran his other fingers over the spot, which felt slightly numb, not looking at it. He refused to believe what he didn't feel was gone.

Finally, he forced himself to look, hoping that morning sleepiness was playing tricks on him. But all he saw was bare fingers, a shallow imprint being the only sign that a ring had once been there.

“Plagg?” He called out, looking at the spot on his bed where his Kwami normally slept. Plagg had a tendency to sleep in, and often slept through noise. But the spot was empty, undisturbed.

“Plagg!” He cried out, trying to feel his presence. He’d only had Plagg for a few months, and, sure, he could be annoying and ate only smelly Camembert, but he  _ never  _ left Adrien’s side. He was always there, and with him suddenly gone like this, Adrien felt horribly lonely.  His sudden disappearance had to be caused by Adrien’s ring going missing. It must have just slipped off while he slept.

With that thought to reassure him, Adrien began to dig through his bed, vainly feeling around for the ring. Under and over sheets and duvets, under the mattress, and in his pillowcase, but they all turned up empty. He checked the area around his bed and under it, but still nothing.

Panic truly began to set in. Adrien couldn’t breath deeply enough. The hollow space in his chest was now a black hole, sucking up all the air in the room. Tears began to form at the corners of his eyes, and he vainly tried to force them back. Though he knew it was illogical - he never took his ring off and had fallen asleep wearing it - he began to tear apart his room, looking in a frenzy. Desk drawers, clothes in his closet, bathroom cabinets, bookshelves; nothing was left untouched as Adrien desperately tried to will his ring into existence.

Nathalie found him ten minutes later in a sobbing heap on the floor of his room, belongings thrown about. 

“Adrien!” She called out, shocked to see him in such a state. Adrien barely heard her, lost in the grief over the loss of Plagg and Chat Noir, his friend and the person he truly was. Two things he’d only recently acquired, but couldn’t imagine life without. Now he feared he’d never get to see both again. 

“Adrien!” Nathalie repeated, closer this time, and Adrien looked up, not cognizant of how he ended up on the floor. All Nathalie could do was stare as he got up, and Adrien didn’t really blame her. He probably looked at least half as bad as he felt. 

“Good morning, Nathalie,” He winced at how hoarse he sounded.

“Adrien, are you sick?” She asked.

“Yeah, I woke up feeling bad,” He said, not technically lying. “What’s going on? Did I sleep in?”

“No. In fact, you probably shouldn’t go to school today.” She said, and Adrien didn’t have the energy to argue. “I do have something to tell you, however. Your father talked to me early this morning. There’s been an emergency regarding his collection at New York City’s Fashion Week, one he needed to personally attend to. He flew over shortly after he talked to me.”

“Did he say when he’ll be back?”

“No. I guess he’ll find out when he lands. There’s some other things I need to tell you… But they can wait. I'll let you get some rest. Do you want me to send someone to clean up the mess?”

“No, it’s okay. I can take care of it.”

She gave him something that was almost a smile. “I’ll let you get some more sleep. Breakfast will be up in a couple hours.”

Adrien nodded, and, after Nathalie left the room, he sunk back down to the floor. All he felt now was shame. How could he have lost Plagg and his Miraculous? They were both so important, to him and to the city of Paris. How could they have disappeared overnight? 

What if there was an Akuma today? He’d let that innocent person down by not being able to help them. And he’d let Ladybug down by forcing her to face them alone. Would she be able to?

He was never going to be able to fight with her again. Being by her side, fighting whoever Hawk Moth had corrupted this time, using his Cataclysm, freeing the Akuma so it could be cleansed, seeing the magic of Miraculous Ladybug; he’d never get to experience those things, those feelings, again.

And he’d never be Chat Noir again, his true self. 

He felt himself start to cry again. After tasting the freedom that Chat Noir brought, going back to the mask of Adrien Agreste seemed unbearable. And by acting sick, he’d lost the chance to go to the one place where he could be his freest as Adrien; school. 

No, he could still go. There was still plenty of time to get ready and get there on time. He’d go, be around his friends, try to feel better and get himself into a calmer mind space. Then, he could think more about what happened to Plagg and his ring and try to find them both. 

He stood up, determined, and wiped the tears from his eyes. He got dressed and ready, grabbed his school bag, left his room, and started to head to the front door, only to be stopped by the Gorilla. 

“I’m ready for school,” He said. The Gorilla, like usual, said nothing, but didn’t budge. “We need to leave or I’ll be late.”

“Adrien, you’re not going to school today,” Nathalie said, coming down the stairs.

“Really, Nathalie, I feel fine! Once I got ready, I felt like I could go.”

“I’m not saying that because you’re sick,” Nathalie said, then sighed. It was the sigh that normally preceded bad news, and Adrien felt his heart drop. 

“This is part of the other things I was going to tell you earlier. Your father wants you to stay home while he’s out of the country, for your own safety.”

“What? No! What about school?”

“You’ll be homeschooled for the time being.” Adrien began to argue, but she cut him off. “No arguing. It’s what your father wanted, and that’s what we’ll do. If you feel well enough to have lessons, there’s still enough time for me to call your tutors-”

“Actually, I feel sick again,” Adrien grumbled, dropping his bag forcefully. He began to head up the stairs to his room.

Nathalie reached out and grabbed his arm. “Adrien!” She started, but he just forced himself out of her grip, then took off into a run. He slammed the door to his room behind him, tears dripping off his chin. He expected Plagg to come out and ask him what was wrong, or at least make some sarcastic comment. When Adrien remembered why he didn’t, he cried harder. 

He ignored Nathalie calling his name, locking the door to his room.

“I’m taking a shower!” He yelled back in reply, slammed and locked the door to his bathroom, turned on the water, and quickly stepped in, ignoring how cold it was still.

Once he heard the click of Nathalie’s heals leaving, he let out a scream.


	3. Chapter 3

“Agreste, Adrien?” Ms. Bustier called out, only to be met with silence. She and a few kids glanced towards Adrien’s seat, but it was empty. “Absent,” She muttered to herself as she made a mark on her chart, before moving on to the next name.

Marinette sighed at the empty spot in front of her. She couldn’t think of a reason why Adrien would miss school. She knew he’d been homeschooled his whole life, and really enjoyed school because of that. And she enjoyed get to see him daily. She was disappointed, and a bit worried

“Dupain-Cheng, Marinette?” She pulled herself out of her thoughts long enough to give a habitual “Here!” to Ms. Bustier before tuning her out again. 

“Hey, Nino?” She whispered to Adrien’s desk mate and best friend. Nino looked up at her. “Do you know why Adrien isn’t here? Is he okay?”

“I donno. It is strange of him to miss…” He replied, concern showing on his face.

“Yeah,” She replied. She glanced over to Chloé, just to see if she knew what was up with Adrien. She was a childhood friend of Adrien’s and, much to Marinette’s annoyance, might have a clue as to where he was. But she seemed confused as well, giving a glance towards Adrien’s seat with the most concern Marinette had even seen Chloé give someone other than herself. Something was wrong. Marinette couldn’t shake the feeling in her stomach that this was more than Adrien simply being sick or out of town. 

This wasn’t helped by Tikki being off this morning. She had be visibly anxious and worried, saying that things felt unbalanced. She'd even turned down the chocolate chip cookies she normally couldn't get enough of.

Marinette found herself agreeing with her. Things felt  _ wrong _ , uneasy, like something big was about to happen, but nobody knew when. 

“Hey, are you okay, Marinette?” Alya, breaking through her train of thought, asked.

“I don't know, I might be coming down with something.”

“Maybe something’s going around? Could be why Adrien’s out.”

“Yeah…” Marinette trailed off, hoping that his absence was that simple.

“You wanna go see the nurse?”

“I think I’ll be fine.”  Alya shrugged and turned back towards Ms. Bustier as she called out her name.

Marinette worked to pay attention the rest of the morning.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, in another classroom, a group of older students were in chemistry with Ms. Mendeliev. And it was not going well.

“I can’t figure out these instructions?” One of the boys called out.

“Is the solution supposed to be this color? And smell this bad?” A girl said, wrinkling  her nose.

The sound of glass test tube shattering on the ground followed. Ms. Mendeliev  struggled to keep her anger in check. This lesson was a disaster, she was behind on grading physics tests for another class, and she’d accidentally grabbed something moldy from her fridge while making breakfast, a disgusting reminder that she was behind on both cleaning her apartment and going grocery shopping. It felt like, lately, every time she’d get one task done, ten more would follow. She didn’t want to take her anger out on her students, though. It wasn’t their fault.

This was, however, supposed to be an easy lab. She’d assigned it today in hopes she could relax during this period. No such luck.

She did her best to get the students through it, feeling relief when the bell rang. She had the next period free, but she couldn’t sneak a nap. The next class were the ones expecting those physics tests.

She sighed, pulling the tests from her desk drawer and got to grading. And was immediately frustrated at the sheer number of incorrect answers on the first test she looked at. She wasn’t surprised at the name on the top, this kid never paid attention, but she was stuck having to correct all of his mistakes.

Sometimes, she thought, it’d be nice to get some help. Her colleagues always seemed to have it together. And whenever they didn't, she was always willing to lend a hand. But they never seem to give her the same courtesy.

In another part of Paris, a window opened and allowed sunlight to come through. Her thoughts were heard by Hawk Moth, powered by her frustration and anger.

“Ah, the ever growing list of things to do, classes full of ungrateful students, and little support from colleagues. It sure can drive anyone mad,” He mused as a butterfly, so white it seemed to glow, came towards his hands. He cupped them around the small insect, and smiled as he felt his magic fill the butterfly, loving the deep purple color it was when he was done. 

“Fly away, my little Akuma, and darken her heart!” He said as he released the butterfly, watching it fly through the window.

As Hawk Moth felt the Akuma get closer to it’s target, he grinned to himself. Certainly, today he will be victorious! He’s already so close, and Ladybug will be without her ally. She won’t stand a chance.

The Akuma made it to the school quickly, unnoticed by Ms. Mendeliev, too focused on grading. It flew into her lab coat, turning it black. Ms. Mendeliev, a dark shadow covering her eyes, looked up as a deep man’s voice suddenly began speaking to her. 

“Greetings, Madame Chimie, I am Hawk Moth. I understand that you’re overwhelmed with work, dealing with ungrateful colleagues, and students who don’t want to listen to you.  Well, I am here to help you. All I ask is that you help me find the solution to my problem; getting Ladybug’s earrings. Do we have a deal?” He asked, knowing exactly what her answer would be. 

“With pleasure, Hawk Moth,” She grinned, as a dark purple cloud encompassed her.

* * *

 

The bell rang, and Marinette and her class headed for Ms. Mendeliev’s room for physics. Rose was the first person to enter, only to let out a scream of fright, with a few of the other kids around her joining in. 

Curious, Marinette looked over her classmate’s heads, and their fight was quickly explained. Ms. Mendeliev’s hair was wilder than normal, and a much more violent shade of purple. Her lab coat was black, with chemical formulas written in white covering it. Her pants and heels had melted together and turned black with a purple stripe running down each side. And her glasses had distinct butterfly wing marks on the edges of the frames.

Ms. Mendeliev has been Akumatized! Marinette began to think about how she could get away to transform as she and her classmates moved away from the door. 

“Hello class. My name is Madame Chimie, and I will be your teacher today,” She hissed, striding over to the cowering group of students. “But instead of me lecturing you today, I figured we’d have a more  _ practical _ lesson!” 

She pulled a set of four test tubes in a holder, all of them filled halfway with a black liquid. She pulled one out and cupped it in her hand. The formulas on her coat began to glow as multicolored smoke poured from the top of the one she grabbed. 

“Run!” Marinette cried as Madame Chimie started to toss it. Her classmates scattered as it landed on the ground and exploded in a cloud of green smoke. Most kids were able to avoid it, but a few got caught in the blast. Marinette watched in horror as they slowly walked towards Madame Chimie, almost like zombies.

She ran into the bathroom and Tikki came out of her bag. No words were needed. They’d done this enough that both were ready.

“Tikki, transforme me!”

* * *

 

Adrien sat on the couch in his room, the news on, keeping an ear out for any Akuma attacks. He really hoped things would be quiet until he found Plagg and his Miraculous, but if something happened, he wanted to at least keep up with it, and make sure Ladybug was alright. He hated doing nothing but listening, but it was better than sitting in silence unsure.

He’d put his room back in order after he’d finished showering. He’d meticulously checked his bed while remaking it, but, again, came up empty handed. 

Nathalie had come by about an hour ago with breakfast. He refused to open the door. She’d left the try on the ground and he’d grabbed it once he was certain she’d gone.  He knew he was acting strange, but he could pass it off on him being “sick” and upset over being forced inside while his Father was in America.

Adrien wondered why Father was so concerned about his safety. Barely leaving the house, needing an escort when he did, having his schedule meticulously planned; they did all these things when Father was around. Why did Father being out of the country somehow make all of that less safe? It's not like Father was around when he was in the country. Especially recently, when he'd often spend hours locked away in his study, usually missing meals. Adrien probably wouldn't have even noticed that he'd left the country if Nathalie hadn't told him.

And he couldn’t help but notice that Father had left the country suddenly the morning Adrien lost his Miraculous. He’d taken an interest in his ring a few days ago, after the Simon Says drama had ended, but Adrien had written it off as Father just being distant, not noticing something Adrien wore every day. But then, just a few days later, both the ring and Father disappear...

Father leaving for America had to be just a coincidence. Adrien pushed any thought arguing that out of his mind. 

He knew that shutting Nathalie and the other house staff was not helping his loneliness, but they weren’t the people he wanted to see. He wanted to go to school and see his friends, Nino, Marinette, Kim, Max, even Chloé. He wanted Ladybug to come out of nowhere, saying she knew what happened to Plagg and that she’d help him get him back. He wanted Plagg, stinky cheese and all. Most of all, he wanted to be Chat Noir again.

The breaking news tone came on the news, pulling Adrien out of his thoughts.

A woman came up on the screen, expression serious. "Attention: Breaking news. A new super villain has appeared at Collège Françoise Dupont. Calling herself 'Madame Chimie’, she is suspected to be the school’s physics, math, and chemistry teacher Ms. Mendeliev. The school is in the process of being evacuated…” She trailed off as someone told her something off set. “We’ve just received word that Ladybug has appeared on the scene! We assume that Chat Noir is not far behind. Let’s wish our heroes luck as they take on this villain!”

Adrien shut the TV off, guilty over the fact that Paris, his school in particular, was waiting on him to arrive. And he felt bad for Ms. Mendeliev. She may be strict, but she was a very knowledgeable teacher, and nobody deserved to be Akumatized. 

His mind raced with what to do. He wanted to go out there in help, that was what his instincts told him. But he knew he’d be useless in this form, without Chat’s enhanced speed, agility, weapon, and powers. He had a higher chance at just becoming a victim. And he didn’t want to get in trouble with Father over leaving the house.

But Paris was counting on him. His school was counting on him. Ms. Mendeliev was counting on him.  _ Ladybug _ was counting on him.

He stood up, filled with determination. Powers or not, he was Chat Noir, and he had been tasked with keeping Paris safe. He had failed in some respects by losing the source of his power, but he was going to work to get it back. And he knew Ladybug would help him. But he would do what he could to help her, and Paris, first. That was his job. And if he was careful, he might be able to avoid getting in trouble.

Carefully, he opened the window and stepped out on the ledge. Without his staff, he wasn’t able to launch himself onto the next roof, so instead he looked down to the ground. He wasn't concerned about the fall. It was only a one story drop, and if he landed in a roll, he’d be able to avoid injury. It was the security cameras he was concerned about. He avoided them as Chat because they only pointed at the ground. But now he had to study them. 

He noticed that when they moved, they sometimes left blind spots. He watched them closely for a few moments to figure out when they pointed where. Once he had a path planned out, he steadied his breath, went over how to fall and land in his head, then jumped.

He dropped into a roll right as he hit the ground, and kept rolling until he was in the hedges that surrounded the fence. He hissed as the thorns cut his skin, but he’d dealt with worse. Once the cameras were off his position again, he quickly scaled the fence, then took off in a run towards the school.

_ Don’t worry, Ladybug, I’m coming. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to take a quick moment to thank you all for the bookmarks, comments, and kudos! It's been a couple years since I last put my writing online, so I was bit nervous to start again. I've really appreciated all the positive feedback! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

The green smoke began to dissipate. The student's who got caught in the blast shambled over to Madame Chimie. “Go, get ready for class. And prep all the lab tables. We’ll need a full class for my lesson to  _truly begin!_ She began to prepare another test tube, when a yoyo wrapped around her hand, and forced her to throw it at her feet. Without any spell being used on it, it dissipated harmlessly.

“Sorry, Ms. Chimie, but class has been canceled!” Those remaining in the school’s courtyard looked to the sound of the voice. A cheer went up as they saw Ladybug, perched on the second floor railing. She gracefully flipped down to the first floor, pulling her yoyo back at the same time. 

She looked over to the other students, who were watching her with rapt attention. “Get out of here!” She yelled to them. They startled, seeming to realize they were in danger, and, galvanized, began to run to the door. 

A test tube suddenly went flying through the air. Ladybug swung her yoyo to catch it, but missed. It broke in front of the school's main entryway, which was immediately covered by a translucent purple wall. A scream rang up from the students, and Ladybug ran towards the crowd, hoping to help.

Kim, who had managed to get outside before the wall went up, tried to reach through, and found that he could. Quickly, he grabbed onto Max’s hand, intending to pull his best friend over. Instead, he slammed Max into the wall, who winced in pain. Kim pulled harder, but lost his balance and fell through the wall and back inside the school. He quickly got up and attempted to tackle the wall at a run, only to just bounce right off of it.

Madame Chimie laughed at their confusion. “That wall is semi-penetrable! Things can come in, but they can’t leave! If you’d paid attention in class, you’d understand.”

Ladybug swung her yoyo out at Madame Chimie, but, having learned her lesson earlier, simply blocked it with her free hand. “Let them go!” Ladybug yelled.

“Why should I listen to you? Nobody ever listened to me. Well, I’ll make it so they  _ have _ to!”  The formulas on her coat began to glow as she grabbed another test tube. The moment she pulled one out, another identical one took it’s place. 

_ That must be where her Akuma is. _

While Madame Chimie was distracted with finishing the spell, Ladybug threw her yoyo out and caught the hand that was holding the test tube holder. She forced Madame Chimie to drop it right as the spell finished. 

Madame Chimie, however, ignored the shattering of her test tube holder, instead focused on throwing the completed spell at the remaining students. Ladybug quickly pulled her yoyo back and spun it rapidly, creating a clean air bubble around her. Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to make it big enough to cover more than herself, and the remaining students were hit by dark blue smoke. 

Once it dissipated, Ladybug expected to see a purple butterfly emerge from the wreckage of the test tube holder, Madame Chimie on the ground, and her classmates unaffected.

Instead, she saw Madame Chimie standing right where she had been, a new test tube holder in hand, and no sign of the old one on the ground. No Akuma either. She’d gotten it wrong. 

Her classmates, however, seemed unaffected, and Ladybug quickly ran over to them to make sure. “Are you all alright?” She asked Rose. But she didn’t respond, still cowering from the blast. Alya caught her eye and she ran over to her. "Are you okay?'

Alya seemed startled. "What did you say? I can't hear you."

“Foolish little insect!” Madame Chimie called out, a dark laugh to her voice. “ _ I’m _ the only one they can hear!

Anger coursed through Ladybug. Akuma attacks that put her classmates and friends in danger were always the worst. She had to focus on keeping her emotions in check, making her sole focus on keeping everyone safe. 

Too late, she didn’t notice another test tube, this one now green, go flying. She just barely missed the smoke by swinging up to the second floor. Again, she wasn’t able to save her classmates, making her frustrated and upset as she watched them be enveloped in the green smoke.

But keeping them all safe was so difficult on her own. Where was Chat Noir?

“Come, students!” Ladybug, lying low, heard Madame Chimie call out. “Go join your classmates. I’ll need all the help I can to get this project up and running!”

Once the courtyard was clear, Ladybug swung back down. The door to Ms. Mendeliev’s room was shut, and probably locked. At this rate, there was no way she could stop Madame Chimie on her own. 

“I’m gonna need all the help I can get. I should find out what's taking Chat so long," She muttered to herself. She pulled out her yoyo, and brought up the video chat function. She dialed Chat’s number, but it rang once, then ended, which usually meant he was in his civilian attire. Where  _ was _ he? 

“Chat Noir!” She called out, frustrated and running out of options.

“Ladybug!” Someone very out-of-breath replied. It kind of sounded like Chat, and it seemed to come from outside the school.

“Chat?” She called out again, walking towards the purple wall, expecting to see the black clad hero running towards her. Instead, she saw Adrien Agreste.

“Adrien?” She said, confused. Certainly, that voice had been… No matter. He needed to get out of here! “Adrien, go back home! It’s not safe here!”

But Adrien didn’t stop running. In fact, he began sprinting.

“Adrien, stop!” She cried out again, but it was like he didn’t hear her. He barreled through the wall, barely missing Ladybug. Obviously expecting his momentum to be stopped, he stumbled a bit before falling onto his face, legs sticking up in the air. He mumbled an ow.

“Adrien!” Ladybug called out in worry, running over to him. “Are you okay?” She asked as she helped him up. He nodded in reply, his breathing still heavy. Between the running and the fall, his hair had gotten messed up. It almost looked like Chat’s… 

She pushed the thought out of her mind. “Why didn’t you listen to me?” 

Adrien just stood there for a few minutes, catching his breath. He closed his eyes, breathed out slowly, then looked at her, a soft smile on his face. 

“Because I’d never let My Lady fight an Akuma on her own.”

Ladybug stared in shock, the words “My Lady” echoing in her head. It didn’t seem possible… But nobody but Chat called her that, and it was his voice,  _Chat's_ voice, that came out of Adrien's mouth.

“...Chat Noir?” She finally asked, breathless.

Adrien dipped into a very Chat Noir-like bow, but his facial expression didn’t change. “The one and only.”

Ladybug couldn’t stop the blush creeping into her cheeks as she raised her hands to her mouth. This whole time, she’d been fighting with  _ Adrien _ ? She’d been sitting behind Chat Noir every day in class?  _ Adrien had been flirting with her this whole time? And she’d been rejecting him? _

Adrien, now standing up straight, gave her a look of concern. Ladybug turned away, not able to look at him. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to stop picturing him in Chat Noir's outfit. And now she couldn't help but think that it _made sense_. It all seemed so obvious in hindsight. The hight, the hair, the voice; how could she have missed it?

She looked over at Ms. Mendeliev's room, and remembered the problem at hand. There were more important things to worry about right now. Like Madame Chimie and her classmates. And why Adrien hadn’t transformed into Chat Noir. Ladybug closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and turned back to Adrien.

“We’ll discuss this in a second, after we take care of the Akuma. Why haven’t you transformed?” She asked. Adrien immediately looked upset, and almost guilty. “Not that I don’t believe you!” She quickly added, but that didn’t seem to help.  Adrien broke his gaze and began to shake slightly. Ladybug stepped closer, concerned, and noticed his eyelids looked a bit swollen and red. Had he been crying?

He met her gaze again, and Ladybug felt herself blush at their closeness. But it faded quickly when she saw just how upset he looked, trying and failing to hide it under a facade of seriousness. He opened his mouth like he was going to speak, but then shut it. Instead, he slowly raised his right arm until his right hand was in front of her face, and pointed to his ring finger. There was a small indentation at the bottom of the finger, like there had once been a ring there.

Ladybug inhaled sharply. “Your Miraculous…”

Adrien dropped his hand, shame etched in his face. “It was gone when I woke up, and so was Plagg. I have no idea what happened to them, and I tore my room apart this morning trying to look for them. But, they’re both just… gone." He took a shuddering breath, rubbing a hand across his eyes.  “But when I saw on the news that an Akuma had appeared at school, I knew I needed to get over here to help you. Miraculous or not, I’m still Chat Noir, and I have a duty to protect Paris. I couldn’t abandon you to face an Akuma on your own. I’m gonna help, in whatever way I can.”

Ladybug was taken aback at his conviction. Despite everything he’d been through today, and completely powerless, he still wanted to do his job and protect his city. She was reminded again why she loved him so much.

Ladybug smiled at him and took his hand, both ignoring the other’s blush. “Thank you for coming. And we’ll find Plagg and your Miraculous as soon as we’re done here.”

Adrien couldn’t help himself as he pulled her into a hug. Ladybug returned it, knowing he needed it.

When they broke apart, he gave her a smirk she’d only ever seen with his mask on. “Let’s go catch an Akuma.”


	5. Chapter 5

Ladybug pushed away the last of her emotions over Adrien’s revelations. She'd deal with them later, but right now they had an Akuma to catch. She grabbed his hand and they ran over to Ms. Mendeliev’s room, staying low to avoid the window. They knelt under the door as she caught him up on what had happened. He tried the door, and, like she expected, it was locked.

Adrien growled in frustration. “Cataclysm would be  _ really _ helpful right now.” He and Ladybug looked at each other, at a loss. They both knew that it was too soon for her to use Lucky Charm, as it would only give Ladybug five minutes to find and cleanse the Akuma. With Adrien unable to access Chat Noir, they really couldn’t afford Ladybug detransforming during the battle. They’d have to save Lucky Charm until the last possible second.

Then, something shiny caught Adrien’s eye. He reached for it and grinned. “A bobby pin! Must’ve fallen out of some girl’s hair.” Ladybug watched as he turned himself to face the lock, then began to pick it. After a few minutes of trying, they heard a  click .

“Not as quick as Cataclysm, but…” He opened the door “Ta-da!”

“Good work, Adrien!” Ladybug whispered, and the two snuck into the room. They stayed low to the ground and made their way to the back of the room, hiding behind the desks.

It almost looked like a regular day of science class, if you ignored Madame Chimie’s strange appearance. The kids were at their desks, looking like they were doing a lab. But their eyes were glassy, and their movements were jerky and slow, not quite aware of what they were actually doing.

Madame Chimie gave a low chuckle. “Good job, class. You all have earned A’s today. For once you finish your lab, and I add a special touch, we’ll spread the solution all over Paris, putting the city under my control!”

Ladybug and Adrien whispered to each other, trying to figure out strategies. “I don’t want to start a fight and risk hurting the students,” Ladybug said. “And I can’t figure out what her Akuma is.”

“You already tried her test tube holder, right?” Adrien asked, and Ladybug nodded. Adrien looked around the corner at Madame Chimie, then something seemed to come to him. “I think it’s her lab coat!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you said it lights up when she makes a new chemical. That must be the source of her power…”

“Which is where the Akuma is! But, how do I get close to her without her seeing?”

“I’ll distract her,” Adrien said. He cut off Ladybug when she made a move to protest. “I’m in my regular clothes, so she’ll probably just think I’m a student. While she’s focused on me, you can grab the scissors of her desk and cut her lab coat.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m usually the distraction anyway.”

“Yeah, but you normally have your staff on you.”

“I may not have Chat Noir’s weapons, but I do have his brain,” He smirked, tapping his head. Ladybug nodded and began to slowly sneak over to the teachers desk. Adrien snuck over to his normal seat close to the front, and began to mimic the kids around him. Madame Chimie looked over in his direction, but didn't seem to regard him as a threat. She didn't even seem to realize he'd suddenly appeared. Once Ladybug got closer to Madame Chimie's desk, he grabbed a test tube off the table, and dropped it on the ground.

The sound of shattering glass filled the room, and Madame Chimie’s made it to Adrien's desk at a speed almost inhuman. “Foolish boy! How dare you break my precious lab equipment!”

“Sorry, Madame Chimie. It won’t happen again,” Adrien replied and Ladybug, now behind the teacher’s desk, was impressed with how sincere he sounded.

“Of course it won’t. Because I’m expelling you from my classroom  _ permanently _ !”

Adrien gave a yelp of surprise when all of his classmates were suddenly surrounding him, eyes dark. “Guys, wait stop! It’s me, Adrien!” They began to grab at him, and Adrien worked to fight them off without hurting him. “Ladybug!”

Ladybug popped up at his cry and gave a gasp as she saw Adrien in trouble. Unfortunately, she also got the attention of Madame Chimie, who gave a hiss in her direction. 

“Student’s aren’t allowed behind the teacher’s desk!” Madame Chimie roared as she began to stride over.

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug called out, feeling the magic fill her. She opened her hands, waiting to see what ladybug spotted object would appear this time. 

A thin wire object fell into her hands. “A clothes hanger?"  She didn’t have enough time to figure out how to use it, as Madame Chimie leapt for her. She quickly jumped out of the way, right by the feet of her fellow classmates who were trying to get Adrien.

“Stop her!” Madame Chimie called, glasses slightly askew. The students turned their attention on Ladybug, which gave Adrien a chance to break free, landing in front of Ms. Mendeliev’s desk.

The idea came to Ladybug suddenly, like it always did. Spinning her yoyo rapidly to keep her classmates at bay, she prepared to jump. “Adrien! Grab the scissors!”

Adrien nodded, and quickly did so. Ladybug suddenly swung her yoyo out, catching it on a ceiling light. She swung over her classmates heads, feet out, and kicked Madame Chimie. As they fell, Ladybug put the hanger through the sleeves of the lab coat and pulled it off Madame Chimie. She leap off and landed by the door, coat and hanger in hand, while Madame Chimie landed face down.

“Now, Adrien!” Ladybug cried. Adrien ran and, in one swift movement, cut horizontally through the coat, the bottom half dropping to the floor. From the rip, a purple butterfly emerged.

Ladybug drew her finger across the middle of her yoyo, causing the top to break open into a bright light. She swung her yoyo in a few large circles, gaining momentum. “I’m freeing you from evil!” She yelled, invoking the magic, as she swung the yoyo forward, trapping the Akuma in the light. The yoyo closed around it. “Gotcha!” She touched the top and a small, white butterfly emerged. “Bye bye, little butterfly,” She said, watching it fly away.

She grabbed the hanger from the remnants of the coat, and tossed it into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!” She called out as the hanger dissolved into a swarm of ladybugs. They swarmed around the school, turning everything back to normal. They freed her classmates from Madame Chimie's control, repaired the lab coat and returned it to it's normal color, and removed the wall from school front door. 

A purple cloud covered Ms. Chimie, and when it disappeared, Ms. Mendeliev was there, on her hands and knees, looking rather confused. Ladybug picked up the lab coat and handed it to her. 

“Ladybug?” She said, shocked, as she took the coat from her. “What happened? Are the students alright?!”

“They’re fine now. Let’s go get you some help,” She said, and began to help Ms. Mendeliev out of the room. The other students began to cheer as she left, and she gave them a small wave. She didn't see Adrien among them. A bit worried, she decided to look for him once she got Ms. Mendeliev to help.

She lead Ms. Mendeliev to the front of the school, where, predictably, reporters were waiting. “Please, let her get some help,” Ladybug asked, and a team of paramedics broke through and took Ms. Mendeliev from Ladybug, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.

“Thank you, Ladybug,” Ms. Mendeliev said as they led her away. Ladybug gave her a small wave, and was then immediately surrounded by reporters. Questions were yelled out from multiple directions.

“Ladybug! What happened inside the school today?”

“Ladybug! Why do you think she was turned into a super villain?”

“Ladybug! Where is Chat Noir?”

Adrien. Where was he? “Sorry, everyone, but I can’t take questions today!” She said quickly, then swung her yoyo around a part of the school’s roof, and took off. 

She landed on the roof and looked down into the courtyard. She watched as students and faculty were evacuated, but she couldn’t spot Adrien among them. 

“Ladybug!” She turned at the sound of Adrien’s voice, and spotted him on the outside wall of the school, by the dumpsters. She dropped down.

“How did you get out of the school?”

“I ran out of the room the moment I saw the Akuma come out of her coat. I knew you had everything handled from there, and I didn’t want the other students to see me. With me being absent today, I didn't want them to wonder where I'd suddenly come from.”

“Good point. You just frightened me, is all.”

“Sorry. So, now on to finding my Miraculous and Plagg.”

“Right, but I need to recharge first. I’m about to detransform.”

“Why not just let it happen?” Ladybug blanched, and Adrien quickly continued on. “I mean, you know that I’m Chat Noir now! How about I find out who you are?”

“You didn’t have much of a choice though,” Ladybug fired back. Adrien looked a bit hurt by this, so she worked to backtrack. “It’s just… So much has happened today, between Madame Chimie and you losing your Miraculous and  _ you _ being Chat Noir. I just...  I need a moment to process all of this. And I need to think about if I want to tell you. I want it to be my own choice.”

Adrien’s face fell a bit at this, but he nodded. “As you wish, My Lady.”

Ladybug grinned, but it slid off when her earrings beeped at her, warning her she only had a minute left. “Go home. Once I’m recharged and ready, I’ll meet you there.”

“I can’t,” Adrien said with a sigh. “It’s a long story, but I wasn’t supposed to leave the house this morning, and if I go back, I won’t be allowed out for any reason, even if Ladybug says she needs me.”

Ladybug sighed. “Do you mind waiting here for just a few minutes? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“No problem. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your return, My Lady!” He said, giving a small bow. Ladybug just rolled her eyes at him, then swung off, a smile slowly growing on her face.

* * *

 

In another part of Paris, Hawk Moth fumed. He allowed the window to close and quickly detransformed. Nooroo took one look at Gabriel Agreste’s face, and quickly flew off in search of food.

“How  _ dare _ he,” Gabriel spit, shaking with rage. He had ordered Nathalie to make sure Adrien stayed inside today, and look what had happened! He  _ gotten out _ and assisted Ladybug. He put himself in  _ danger _ , exemplified by the fact that he didn’t have his Miraculous. His son had almost gotten hurt, and it was Gabriel’s fault.  _ Again _ .

Calming himself down, he grabbed his tablet and called Nathalie on video chat. She answered, looked frightened. Good, he thought. She knows she’s in trouble.

“M-M-Mr. Agreste! How is Am-America?”

“Fine. I had a moment to catch up on the news coming out of Paris. Tell me, Nathalie,  _ why did I see Adrien at his school while it was under attack? _ ” She shrunk back from his anger.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Agreste! He woke up sick this morning, but he tried to go to school, and was really upset when he was told he couldn't. I though he'd locked himself in his room until one of the garden workers noticed one of his bedroom windows was open. Once we got his door unlocked, he was gone! He managed to avoid the security cameras!”

“ _ Find him _ ,” He snapped, and Nathalie nodded furiously. “And once you do, put him on the chat for me. I have some choice words for him.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyyy, been a bit. Sorry for disappearing on you all; life threw a few extra curveballs this semester. But I'm back and almost ready to really start on this again. Just gotta get through finals, and then I'll have plenty of time to write over winter break. In the meantime, I've got a couple of chapters drafted, so I'll post 6 and maybe 7 depending on how busy I get. Thanks for sticking through the hiatus!

Ladybug landed in an alley near her house and detransformed. Tikki appeared near her hands.

“Let’s get you fed so we can get back to Adrien.” Adrien, who was actually Chat Noir. Her trusted partner. The silly boy who made too many puns and flirted with her during battle. Who could still get serious when needed. Was the same Adrien who sat in front of her every day in school. The boy who once admitted to not having many friends. A boy who was sweet, compassionate, smart, and soft-spoken, so unlike the wild, loud Chat.

How in the _world_ where they the same person?

She walked into the bakery on the first floor of her home and was immediately swept into a massive hug from her parents.

“We heard about the villain attack at school! Are you okay?” Her mother asked.

“Yes, I'm fine. I was in the library when the attack started, so I hid during the entire thing. I left the moment I heard that Ladybug had caught the villain.”

Her parents let her go. Despite her reassuring them that she was fine, Marinette noticed the way her parents eyes looked her over, checking for injuries.

“The news is saying that it was your science teacher, Ms. Mendeliev,” Her father said.

“Really?” Marinette pretended to act shocked. It had gotten easier lately. “I hope she’ll be okay.”

Her parents nodded and allowed her to head upstairs, fully satisfied that their daughter was as fine as she claimed. Marinette grabbed a few chocolate chip cookies for Tikki on her way up to the part of the building that served as her family’s house. The third floor was her bedroom, and all hers. She'd really began to appreciate its privacy, giving her a safe space to talk to Tikki and transform if needed.

She sat down at her desk with a sigh and Tikki flew out of her purse. Wordlessly, Marinette handed Tikki a cookie, which was quickly devoured. Tikki started nibbling on the second one as she watched Marinette lean back in her chair and throw her arms out.

“Adrien is Chat Noir! Did you know?” Tikki, mouth full, shook her head.

“I just can’t believe it! This whole time I’ve been fighting with Adrien! And he’s been _flirting_ with me this whole time! Well not with _me_ , with Ladybug, who is me, but he doesn’t know that.” She seemed to brighten up a little “That means Adrien _likes me back_ !” Her face fell again. “No, he likes _Ladybug_ back. Who is actually me. Would he like me back if I told him I was Ladybug?”

“Marinette!” Tikki said, snapping Marinette out of her ramblings. “I understand that you’re processing what Adrien has told you, but we’ve got a bigger problem.

“Right! Adrien’s Miraculous is missing!”

“And so is Plagg, his Kwami,” Tikki said. She was unusually glum looking. “That’s why I woke up feeling weird. I was _unbalanced_. There is not a counter to my powers of creation out there. The Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses work best when two people are wielding them at the same time. If Plagg and the Black Cat ring have both just disappeared, then things are worse than I feared.”

“What do you mean, Tikki?”

Tikki sighed. “Remember when you removed your earrings after your first battle?” Marinette nodded, not meeting Tikki’s eyes. Tikki had vanished after she did that, and didn’t reappear until she gathered her courage and put the earrings back on. Since then, Marinette hadn’t taken them off.

“Take your earrings off.” Marinette blinked at Tikki’s strange request. “Just trust me.”

“Okay…” Marinette said, then slowly removed the earrings. She held them in her hands, then looked up. Tikki was still there.

“You didn’t disappear this time!”

Tikki nodded. “There are only two times a Kwami will disappear if a Miraculous holder is separated from their Miraculous. One is if the wielder quits or rejects being a Miraculous holder, like you once did. The other is if its removed by force.”

Marinette, still in the process of putting her earrings back in, gasped. “You think someone _took_ Adrien’s Miraculous?”

“That’s the only explanation I can think off. Plagg wouldn't have disappeared if the ring had just slipped of the finger. And Adrien seems to enjoy being Chat Noir; I don’t think he’d take his ring off with the intent to quit.”

“Yeah, and if he took them off on purpose, he wouldn’t lie to Ladybug about it,” Marinette said. “But, who took them?” The two sat and thought for a moment.

“Should I tell him?” Marinette asked suddenly, looking up at Tikki.

“Well, Marinette, it’s up to you now,” Tikki said. “Usually, the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous holders do tell each other, but that’s usually after a few years have gone by and the two trust each other unconditionally. This is the earliest either holder has told the other, though Adrien didn't have much choice in the matter. Actually,” She chuckled,  “You two are the first to know each other as civilians before revealing your secrets.”

“Really?” Marinette was shocked at this, but Tikki nodded, and it wasn’t like her to joke on matters like this. She hummed to herself, mulling her options.

“I’ll play it by ear,” She finally decided, standing up. She looked over at Tikki. “Are you ready to go? We shouldn’t leave Adrien waiting too long.” Tikki nodded, face serious. Marinette nodded back, determined.

“Tikki, transform me!”

* * *

Adrien leaned against the wall of the school, scrolling through his phone absentmindedly. He really wasn’t reading anything, but needed something to do to keep himself occupied. Ladybug had been gone for about five minutes, and he wasn’t sure when she’d be back. It depended on where she lived, and how long it took her Kwami to recover.

He was trying to stay out of view of the road, in case Nathalie and the Gorilla were looking for him. He felt bad about sneaking out, but this was important. And he knew his dad, and, by extension, his staff, would never bend the rules just because he said he needed to leave for something important. And it wasn’t like he could tell them the details.

He heard the familiar sound of Ladybug’s yoyo wrap around an object, then the _whizzing_ sound of the string shortening as she flew through the air. She dropped down a short distance in front of him and pulled her yoyo back towards herself.

God, she looked so _beautiful_ doing that.

Ladybug looked up and spotted him. He gave her a big grin and a wave, which she reciprocated.

“Welcome back, My Lady,” Adrien said as she drew closer. The slightly serious look in her eye made brought him back to reality, why this was happening. “Did... your Kwami have any ideas on what happened to Plagg?"

Ladybug sighed. “Tikki admitted that she woke up feeling unbalanced, but couldn’t figure out why until you told me Plagg was gone. She thinks your ring has been stolen. The only other reason Plagg would disappear is if you took of the Miraculous with the intention of quitting.”

“Which I didn’t!” He cut in. He would never! Becoming Chat Noir was the best thing that ever happened to him.

He felt bad when Ladybug looked hurt by his words. She placed her hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. “And I know that. I understand you’re upset; I would be too. But we need to focus on trying to figure out who stole them from you.”

The two stood there for a moment, looking at each other, at a loss. Adrien could tell that she was hoping he would have an idea, but he couldn’t think of anything.

Then, a thought from this morning resurfaced. But, it didn’t seem possible. He tried to dismiss the thought again, but his face must have betrayed that something had come to him, as Ladybug looked interested. Adrien sighed.

“Remember when we fought Simon Says a few days ago?” She nodded. “Well, after you left and I had detransformed, my father came into my room to talk about what had happened that day. He’s… really concerned about my safety, and I think the events of that day unnerved him more than he wanted to admit.”

“Is that why you weren’t supposed to leave your house today?”

“Yeah, that’s part of it. The people organizing Father’s collection for New York City’s Fashion Week had a sudden emergency and called him over to America so he could help them. He didn’t want me leaving the house until he got back to France.”

“That seems rather... extreme.”

“Father can be that way,” Adrien replied with a shrug. “Anyway, while we were talking, he noticed my ring. He said he couldn’t recall me wearing a ring and asked where I got it. I, uh, got mad at him for just now noticing.” He felt sheepish, and Ladybug was giving him a look of concern.

He waved her off. “He’s just, super busy, being, ya know, a world famous fashion designer. It’s fine,” He said quickly, ignoring the growing look of worry on Ladybug’s face. Her hand on his shoulder tightened its grip.

“It seems silly, but maybe he wanted to know what kind of metal it was, or something? He might want to make sure I’m not wearing something cheap.” But why wouldn’t he just ask to see his ring?

“And he left for America this morning, the same morning you lost your Miraculous?” Adrien didn’t like the look in Ladybug’s eye. He especially didn’t like the way she sighed and broke eye contact with him.

“What is it?”

She paused a moment before speaking, still not looking at him. “The day we fought Simon Says, there was a moment your father and I were alone in his study. You were probably somewhere trying to make it look like you and Chat Noir were separate people. The two of us were chatting, about you actually, and…” Ladybug took another deep breath and looked Adrien in the eyes. “He suddenly switched topics to my earrings. He told me they were ‘fascinating’, and he even began to reach for them, but you called me as Chat Noir, and the subject dropped.”

Adrien stood there for a moment, processing what Ladybug had just told him.

“I didn’t tell you because I’d honestly kinda forgotten about it with everything that happened that day, and it seemed like such a trivial thing. But, factoring in his remarks about your ring later-”

Adrien stepped back, pulling himself out of Ladybug’s grip and cutting her off. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you implying what I _think_ you’re implying?”

Ladybug sighed, like she didn’t want to think about it either, but she stayed firm. “Adrien, your Miraculous went missing overnight, and your father has taken interest in both of our Miraculouses. And now he’s suddenly out of the country. At this point, you’re father is our best and only suspect.”

Adrien was torn, not wanting to get angry at Ladybug. But he also couldn’t believe his Father would steal from him. Their relationship was tense, but he didn’t think communication between him and Father had gotten so bad that Father would take something of his without asking.

But Ladybug had a point. He’d fallen asleep in his own house last night with the ring on. He’d woken up to find it missing. His Father had been weirdly interested in his ring, and had shown interest towards Ladybug’s earrings. And he was a heavy sleeper. His Father could’ve gone into his room last night, quietly slid the ring off, and left without Adrien knowing.

He, in slight surprise, found that he was starting to tear up again. Man, it had been a while since he’d cried this much. He tried to hide it from Ladybug, but she noticed anyway and pulled him into a hug. His breath hitched into a sob.

“I just-” He took another shuddering breath. “I just can’t believe he’d _do_ such a thing? Why-why didn’t he just ask me for it?” Ladybug was starting to rub circles on his back. “Why is he was he so interested in it? Why was he interested in _your_ earrings?”

Another awful thought occurred to him. “What if he’s lying about being in America because he didn’t want me finding out he took my ring? What if he’s somewhere else, or maybe even in Paris somewhere, just so he wouldn’t have to confront me?”

“Would he do something like that?” Ladybug asked gently.

“I don’t _think_ so…” He trailed off, and broke out of the hug. Ladybug kept a hand on his shoulder. “He’s been acting strange since Mom… More stern, more strict, more closed off. He’ll spend hours, _days_ sometimes, cooped up his office with the door locked. We rarely eat together.”

He looked at Ladybug. She looked worried for him. “So, what should we do now?” She asked.

Adrien sighed. He knew exactly what to do, but that didn’t make it any less difficult. “I need to go back home, find out where my Father _really_ is, and then I need to confront him.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for 100+ kudos! :D

Nathalie sat in the passenger seat, tense. She’d been constantly looking out the windows of the car, trying to spot Adrien. Their first destination was the school, as that had been where Mr. Agreste had seen Adrien on the news. Adrien probably wasn’t there, as the school canceled for the rest of the day after the attack, but somebody there might have seen we he'd gone off to.

She couldn’t recall a time she’d seen Mr. Agreste that angry. Being his personal assistant, she saw sides of Gabriel Agreste that many people, including Adrien, didn’t see. She’d been one of the first employees he’d hired when he was starting his label, so she'd been there through everything, every twist and turn life had thrown at them. From the early struggles of getting the label off the ground, to managing its success, his wedding, Adrien’s birth, the loss of his wife, Nathalie had seen it all.  And he’d been there for her too. When she'd been left without an apartment after rent got too high, he’d renovated part of his mansion so she’d have a place to live. 

They both now trusted the other unconditionally, and were each other's main support systems. Both of them were such stoic people who worked in an industry where looks are everything, so it was nice to have someone that she could allow herself to be more emotional around, and she knew he felt the same.

But, despite their friendship, Adrien’s safety was of utmost concern, and there would be hell to pay if she couldn’t find him soon. Not wanting this to leak to the media, she’d held off on calling the police for now, but if she couldn’t find him by nightfall…

They arrived at the school where a police officer stood in front of the door alongside the principal, Mr. Damocles. Nathalie quickly got out and strided up to them. The two men flinched slightly as she approached. Years in her line of work had given Nathalie an impressive glare, which wasn’t too hard to pull off right now with Adrien missing and the threat of a furious Mr. Agreste if she didn’t find him soon.

“Ah, Ms. Nathalie Sancoeur! What can I help you with?” Mr. Damocles asked.

“Have you seen Adrien Agreste today?” She asked, trying to keep her voice even and calm. 

Mr. Damocles looked a bit confused. “Mr. Agreste was marked absent today.”

“But I saw him evacuate the building,” The officer broke in, also looking puzzled. “He was one of the first students to come out after the purple wall went down.”

Nathalie rounded on the officer. “Did you see what direction he went in?”

She figured he must be a younger officer, because he shrunk under her glare. “I, uh, think he went that way.” He indicated to the left. “I’m not sure where he went beyond that; I was too busy helping the rest of the school evacuate.”

“Is Mr. Agreste alright?” Mr. Damocles asked.

Nathalie pursed her lips, debating on whether or not to tell them. She decided on a half-truth. “He didn’t tell us he was going to school and slipped out, and now hasn’t returned home. He probably met up with a friend and went off with them. I’m just trying to track him down; I don’t think it’s anything serious. He didn’t seem hurt when left the building, did he?”

“No, ma’am,” The officer replied. “Do you want me to alert other officers to keep an eye out?”

“I think that still might be premature. He’s only been missing an hour. I’ll contact you if I can’t find him by this evening, but I think I can track him down.”

“And I’ll call you if I see him,” Mr. Damocles said.

“Thank you for your help,” Nathalie said, then briskly turned on her heel and walked down the steps and in the direction the officer had pointed. It led to an alley where the school dumpsters were kept and it didn’t seem to lead anywhere important. Why would Adrien go here?

She sighed, and turned to head back to the car. Adrien had a school friend, Nino, who he might have gone with. She got back in the car and began pulling up Nino’s info on her tablet. She was about to instruct the driver on where to go when her cell phone rang.

“Hello, this is Nathalie Sancoeur,” She said quickly.

“Nathalie!” It was one of the gardeners. “I just saw Adrien back at the mansion! But he didn’t go through the front door!”

“What?” Why would he go back? Did he avoid the front door so as to try and make it seem like he didn’t leave? “How did he get back in?”

“Through his bedroom window.”

“But that’s on the second floor.”

“I know, but he wasn’t alone," He whispered.

“Wait- _who_ was with him?”

“Ladybug, the super heroine.”

* * *

 

The trip back to Adrien’s house was a bit difficult, as Ladybug wasn't used to the extra weight of carrying someone. The two swung through the window Adrien had left open to his bedroom, and stumbled over each other as they hit the floor. They ended up near the couch, in an ungraceful heap on the floor. Ladybug got up quickly and began stretching her arms, sore from having to swing with one arm and carry Adrien with the other.

Adrien got up shortly afterward, wind swept and with a manic gleam in his eye. “That was SO FUN!” He said as he stood up, shaking and a little giggly from the adrenaline still in his system.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ve just never done anything like that before! It was awesome!”

“Don’t you leap from building to building using your staff?” She asked in a mocking tone, but the smile was breaking through.

“Yeah, but it’s more of a jumping motion, while you swing,” He said, moving his arms in demonstration. “Your way of getting around is really cool!”

“Yeah, but I'd be a lot more graceful without additional passengers,” She replied, the sly grin altering Adrien that she was joking.

“But I would never want you to travel alone, My Lady. Everything’s better in twos,” He retorted, sliding up next to her. He then stepped back a bit, turning beat red. He never talked like that as Adrien and it was… weird. Almost like being in the wrong skin.

But Ladybug didn’t back away, at least not as far as she normally did. And though she was now laughing at the bright color of his face, she was blushing slightly too, showing that she wasn’t rejecting his advances outright. Normally she shut his attempts at flirting down, politely, but still a rejection. Now, however, she seemed to like it?

He thought back to the few times he’d interacted with Ladybug as Adrien before today. Ladybug  _ had _ acted rather flustered around him, like she was embarrassed or tying to get his attention.

Wait a second. Did Ladybug have a crush on him, but as only as Adrien? That would explain her rejecting his flirting as Chat Noir; she’d had her sights on another guy. She just didn’t know they were the same person!

He looked over at her, as she worked on calming herself down from her giggle fit. Did he actually have a chance with her? He’d kept flirting with her partially out of habit, partially hoping to change her mind one day. But he’d accepted that Ladybug just wasn’t interested in him right now. 

But now she was, abet in a different outfit than Adrien expected. 

Ladybug was starting to give him a funny look, and he realized he’d been staring at her, looking like an idiot, for little too long. He shook himself out of his thoughts. He could figure out the slight mess his romantic life was becoming later. There were bigger things to worry about.

Ladybug walked around the room, looking for his ring. “Are you sure you’ve checked everywhere?”

Adrien nodded. “Positive. And I fell asleep with it on.” He sighed. “I’m going to go find Nathalie, let her know I’m okay. Stay here; I don’t want anyone knowing you’re here yet.”

Ladybug nodded, and Adrien left his room in search of his father’s assistant.

The cavernous hallways were empty, as usual, the only sound being the echo of Adrien's footsteps. It was a large house for a family of two, and while there were housekeepers and other staff, they didn’t come by everyday. And he’d requested that they not clean his room, so he almost never saw them.

He spotted a large tapestry up ahead, there to dress up the white walls a bit. Most of the artwork in the house was because of his mom, who had more of an eye for interior decoration than his father. If a model couldn’t wear it, Father had no interest in it, but his Mom had loved to shop for art. Adrien remembered days spent with her, shopping for new things, or just admiring what people had made. She’d go to everything, from high end galleries, to street fairs full of art made by hobbyists and part-timers. He knew the exact way her face would light up when she saw something she had to have.

As he passed by the tapestry, another memory stirred, one of him as a toddler, playing hide-and-seek with Mom. One of his favorite spots had been hiding behind the tapestry, giggling to himself as he’d see Mom’s shoes walk by, hear her ask out loud for him to come out, then walk away. Then, she’d suddenly pull him out from behind the tapestry, tickling him the whole time, his shrieks of laughter filling the room.

Adrien found himself staring at the spot on the floor where his mom used to sit while she tickled him, as though if he looked hard enough, she’d be there. And he could almost hear his voice, high pitched and echoing, and he wondered if he focused hard enough on that, he could age himself down and join her. Go back to the days where his biggest worries were that Mom would find him too quickly and that bedtime was soon.

He shook himself out of his thoughts. Reminiscing on days gone by did him no good. He needed to focus on the problems at hand, and get back to Ladybug quickly. He turned away quickly, and walked faster, away from what could no longer be.

Shortly, he arrived at Nathalie’s office door. He knocked quickly.  “Nathalie?” But she didn’t answer. He repeated the process, but still no response. He tried the doorknob, only to find it was locked. Nathalie only locked her office when she wasn’t in it. 

“Nathalie!” He called out, the name echoing down the corridor. “Nathalie!” Had she found out he’d left and had gone out to find him? “Nathalie!”

“Adrien?” Her voice came back from around a corner, sounding relieved. “Is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” He said, heading towards the sound. He turned into the foyer, where Nathalie stood, clutching her tablet to her chest. She looked relieved, in the most display of emotion Adrien had ever seen out of her. 

“Are you okay?” She asked as he approached. He nodded.

Immediately, the relief left her face, replaced with anger. “Why on Earth did you sneak out? Right after I told you that your father wanted you to stay here! And you almost got caught up in an attack!”

He stepped back in shock. She’d never yelled at him like this before. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize what was happening at school until we were all trapped. I hid and stayed safe the entire time.”

“Your father saw you evacuating the school on the news.”

Adrien winced. No wonder Nathalie was so unnerved; Father had probably immediately called her and sent her out to find him. And with how protective he’d gotten lately, he must’ve really had Nathalie had it. 

Guilt seeped through him. He hadn’t meant to get Nathalie in trouble. But he didn’t regret sneaking out either. Paris and Ladybug had needed him, and the only way he had any hope of finding Plagg and his Miraculous was with Ladybug’s help. 

“I’m really sorry.”

“And why did you return home with Ladybug instead of calling me to come get you?”

Adrien felt his eyes go wide. “How did you know Ladybug took me home?” 

“One of the groundskeepers saw the two of you go through your bedroom window.” Adrien winced. Dumb mistake after how careful he'd been.

“I didn’t want to call you because I didn’t want to get in trouble. I had hoped you hadn’t noticed I’d left. She saw me shortly after she took care of the villain and offered to escort me home. She left shortly afterward,” The lies came out easily. Adrien did it a lot these days.

“Well, that’s a shame.” Ice filled Adrien’s back as his father’s voice suddenly came out of Nathalie’s tablet. As she turned it around to reveal his face, Adrien didn’t think he’d seen his father this angry before. His eyes were wide, he was openly scowling, and his breathing was heavy. “I would have liked to have a chat with her. She was such a lovely guest a few days ago.”

“Father, I’m-”

“Don’t even start,” He coldly cut off, and Adrien stiffened. “Nathalie put me on the moment she heard you calling out for her. I’ve heard everything.” Adrien crossed his arms in front of his chest and shrunk back.

Then something about the screen caught his eye. His Father’s face was covered in shadow, and the room he was in seemed unusually dark. He’d been to America with his father before for Fashion Week and all of those rooms had been brightly lit so that designers could see details on outfits before sending them out on the runway. And many New York building had large windows that let a lot of light in. Where  _ was _ he?

His Father began to speak again, snapping Adrien out of his thoughts. “You disobeyed mine and Nathalie’s orders and snuck out of the house, something you’ve never done before. You lied by faking sick to avoid being caught. And it put you in an incredibly dangerous situation. You could’ve been hurt! Do you know how frightening it is to be in a foreign country, hear that something’s happened back home, pull up the news to keep an eye on it, and see your  _ son _ in the middle of it?!

“Maybe I’ve allowed too much freedom, been too lenient. Maybe I should pull you out of school and go back to tutoring you from home.”

Adrien stepped back like he’d been struck. “No! Father please, I won’t  _ ever _ sneak out again! I promise!” Past and future times he’d snuck out as Chat Noir notwithstanding.

While his Father considered it, Adrien noticed that he looked rather disheveled and seemed exhausted. Jet lag, maybe? But Father was usually pretty good with jet lag, having to travel often for different Fashion Weeks and showcases. And he was one of those people who could function on little sleep. Things weren't adding up.

Father sighed. “You will behave the rest of the time I am overseas. You may be alone in your room, but at all other times Nathalie must accompany you. You will not leave the house, and will go back to tutors for the time being. And hand over your cell phone. If you follow these rules, I  _ may _ allow you to return to school when I come home.”

“Yes, Father,” Adrien said while pulling his phone out of his pocket. He held it up to show Father, then handed it over to Nathalie, who quickly pocketed it.

“Good. I’ll check back in later on tonight your time,” Father said, then bluntly turned the video feed off. Adrien sighed and glanced up at Nathalie.

“I’m heading to my room.” He turned and headed upstairs, Nathalie right behind him. He sighed, Father’s scolding and punishment weighing on him. How was he supposed to go out and find his Miraculous now? The moment he left the mansion, he’d kiss all his personal freedom goodbye. 

And what exactly was Father doing? As Adrien thought about it some more, he realized he didn’t recognize where Father was. He’d been in his New York offices many times, and the place where Father had called them didn’t look like any room Adrien had been in. He thought about how Father was the current suspect in the disappearance of his ring. 

What if what he’d said earlier was right? What if Father wasn’t in America at all? But why go to such great lengths to hide the fact he’d stolen Adrien’s ring? He’d have to talk this over with Ladybug soon. 

Speaking of her, she was still in his room, despite what he’d told his father and Nathalie. If he was caught lying, so shortly after sneaking out, he’d be locked in the mansion for the rest of his life. He’d be seeing personal tutors through university.

They got to Adrien’s door, and he stopped short of opening. “Father did say I was allowed privacy in my room, and I’m not planning on leaving it for a while. You can head back to your office. I’ll yell for you if I leave.”

Nathalie, apparently done with dealing with Adrien today, just shrugged and walked off. That problem taken care of. 

Once he was sure she was out of earshot, he opened the door. “Hey, Ladybug, sorry I took so long. I was-” He stopped short when he looked up, because there was someone in his room who was not Ladybug.

Standing there instead, looking over her shoulder, was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, an apology, for leaving y'all on that awful cliffhanger for, YIKES, over a year. Real rude of me, my bad.  
> Second, an explanation, for the above. 2017 sucked something awful for me, on both the physical and mental health fronts, so I just had very little energy in general. That and the lack of new episodes made my interest in ML wane. But, I'm getting myself back on the right track health-wise, and I've been catching up on season 2 thanks to Netflix and LOVING IT so I decided to bring this story back. I can't make any promises, but I'm gonna do my best to see this story to the end. Thanks for sticking around through this, and for the kudos y'all kept giving this thing. <3  
> Onward!

Marinette detransformed the moment Adrien shut the door to his room. She hadn’t given Tikki enough time to recharge after the fight with Ms. Chimie, and both could feel it. She felt lighter and more alert once the Ladybug suit and it’s magic came off. Poor Tikki looked wiped.

“I’m sorry, Tikki, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to transform back so quickly.”

“It’s fine, Marinette,” Tikki said, smiling slightly, lying down in Marinette’s hands. “You didn’t have much of a choice, and this was the quickest way to get Adrien home.” Her expression turned slightly serious. “I should warn you that the more you do this, this quick switching between Marinette and Ladybug, the more tired you’ll get. You might also not have enough energy for special attacks.”

“Well, let’s hope that Hawk Moth needs to recharge as well,” Marinette replied, sitting down on the couch in Adrien’s room.

Being in Adrien’s room wasn’t as exciting as Marinette figured would be. Maybe it was because she was tired from being Ladybug for so long. Maybe it was that she’d already been in here before during the Simon Says fight. Maybe it was the circumstances that brought her here.

Adrien was Chat Noir, and his Miraculous was missing. These two facts were starting to sink in, but it didn’t make them any less shocking. Marinette was still trying to combine Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir into one person, but it was difficult. Their physical similarities should’ve made things obvious in hindsight, but their personalities were just so different. They way he treated her was so different. Neither persona was bad, but Chat Noir was so much more forward, even that one time she worked with him as Marinette. And she supposed that made her feel awkward as both Marinette and Ladybug because she already had feelings for someone else, Adrien.

Who had turned out to actually _be_ Chat Noir! Marinette sighed; this was becoming rather confusing.

Tikki was giving her a look of concern, as she’d been sitting silently in thought for a while. She looked at Tikki, who was practically the older sister she’d never had. “Should I tell him?”

“That’s a choice you need to make yourself,” Tikki replied, causing Marinette throw her head back and sigh.

“I know, but I can’t figure out what I want to do, or how to do it.”  
  
“So, let’s talk it out,” Tikki suggested. Marinette nodded. “Okay, so what are your reasons for not telling Adrien?”

Marinette thought for a second. “I like keeping my Ladybug and Marinette lives separate from each other. I’m afraid if I tell one person, it’ll spread around quickly. I don’t want to seem like I’m bragging, and I don’t want to be treated differently as Marinette just because I’m Ladybug, even though there are times it would be nice,” She mused. “Part of it was Chat’s crush on Ladybug, because I didn’t like him back, but that’s now a non-issue.”

“Okay,” Tikki nodded. “Now, what about reasons you should?”

Marinette had to think a bit longer on that one. Telling anyone, much less Chat Noir or Adrien, had never been something she considered.

“He told me. That’s the biggest one. It’s not fair that I get to know his secret identity, but he can’t know mine. And, yeah, it _was_ an emergency, but still. Adrien put a lot of trust in me by doing that. By not wanting to tell him, it feels like I’m telling him that I don’t trust him as much as he trusts me. And because Adrien is Chat Noir, he understands the importance of keeping this a secret. And the bragging issue is also gone with that as well.”

“Is there anything else?”

Marinette sighed. “I guess I’m just really scared.” Tikki nodded, placing a comforting hand on Marinette’s. “It’s going to change things, and it’s not a change I can come back from. We’re both going to treat each other a lot differently both as Marinette and Adrien and as Ladybug and Chat Noir. I’ve gotten comfortable with how things have been lately, and I don’t want that to change.”

“You have to admit, though, that things have already started changing. Even if you don’t tell Adrien, he’s told you, and that’s going to affect how you two treat each other,” Tikki pointed out.

“That’s a good point,” Marinette said. She got up and walked over to the large windows that made up one of Adrien’s bedroom walls. With the direction his room faced and the mansion’s location in the city, he had a stunning view of Paris.

Both of them had sworn to protect this city, and she never doubted Chat Noir’s conviction to that promise. Even so, he’d really proven it today by showing up at the site of an Akuma attack completely powerless. She’d been worried that telling her partner who she was in the daytime would mess up the system they’d worked out, cause distractions and lead to a breakdown of their relationship. But now with the knowledge that Chat Noir was Adrien, was someone she knew as Marinette, that didn’t seem as likely. And she now knew that she could act like herself in front of Adrien and he’d like her and she wouldn’t embarrass herself. She’d done it plenty of times now.

“I’m gonna do it, Tikki. I have to.”

* * *

It still took Adrien a few moments to connect the dots.

“Marinette? How’d you get in here?” He said. In response, she turned all the way around and gave him a look that was maddeningly familiar. Eyes narrowed, lips in a small pout, it was similar to how Ladybug looked after he’d made a particularly bad pun.

Wait a second… _Wait a second!_

Adrien’s mouth dropped open. “You’re Ladybug?!”

“The one and only,” She said softly, hesitation clear in her face.

Adrien stared at her, trying to compare Marinette to Ladybug in his mind. And the more he thought about it, the more obvious it seemed. But it was still hard to connect the sweet, clumsy girl he sat behind everyday in class to the elegant, headstrong Ladybug. This was a girl who managed to shut an umbrella on her head once.

But, there were similarities. Marinette had a strong sense of justice, and was very loyal to her friends. She was never afraid to stand up for something she believed in. Once the initial shock wore off, it seemed almost stupid that he hadn’t figured it out sooner.

And Ladybug’s rejection of his advances as Chat Noir gained more depth when placed with the fact that Marinette probably had a crush on him as Adrien. He’d suspected that for a bit now, he wasn’t _that_ dense, but he hadn’t quite figured out how to address it.

So Ladybug did like him back!... Just as Adrien. But know that she knew he was both Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir, she would definitely reciprocate! And he technically always had too. This was great! A bit weird, but great!

“Uhh, Adrien?” Marinette, who had walked closer to him, snapped him out of his thoughts. He reminded himself to focus. There were still bigger things to worry about than his love life, which had simultaneously gotten more simple and more confusing.

“Sorry, just… processing,” He said, then noticed she still looked nervous. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just,”  Marinette sighed. “I just never planned on telling anyone, and now suddenly we both know, on top of all the other crazy things going on, and…”  
  
Adrien realized what he had recently said could have been misconstructed. “Wait, when I said ‘You’re Ladybug?’, I didn’t mean that in an angry or upset way! I was surprised! Happy surprised! It’s a good thing!” He sputtered a bit, reaching towards her. She didn’t back away as he grabbed her shoulders. “A lot has happened today, is all.”

“You’re fine, Adrien, it’s not that!” She said. “It’s just… everything’s gonna change and be different now. We have a good partnership as Ladybug and Chat Noir; I don’t want to lose that.”

“And we’re not. I’m still going to trust you, just like you’ve trusted me. And we’re still going to save the day,” Adrien reassured her.

“In fact, most Ladybug and Chat Noir partnerships get stronger once they tell each other their identities!” The two turned their heads towards the high pitched voice to find Tikki floating by them.

“Oh! Adrien, this is Tikki, my Kwami!” Marinette said as Tikki gave a wave in his direction.

“It’s very nice to finally meet you, Adrien Agreste,” Tikki said as Adrien gently picked her up.

“Likewise,” Adrien said, smiling over the red and black spotted creature. He went to call for Plagg when reality hit him again. His face fell. “Wish I could return the favor,” He muttered, handing Tikki back to Marinette.

“We’ll find Plagg, and your Miraculous, I promise,” Marinette said.

“Well, that’s about to get harder.” Adrien recapped his conversation with his father and Nathalie, and explained just how much trouble he was in.

“Okay, back up,” Marinette said after he finished. “You said something seemed off about your video chat with your father.”

“Yeah, the room was way too dark to do any work with clothes or models. And he almost never looks tired. He works in a field where appearance his highly scrutinized; he knows better than to show any emotion that could be constructed as weakness while at work. Factor in the timing of him leaving France the same day my Miraculous is stolen, so shortly after he showed interest in it, and the fact we’re almost certain he took it. Something’s up.”

“I agree. But, what are we going to do if he’s out of the country and you’re under what’s pretty much house arrest?”

“I’m starting to think my idea from earlier is correct.”

“About him lying about being in America?” Marinette asked, and he nodded.

“Like I said earlier, he sometimes spends hours locked in his office. What if he’s in there? Or in some… secret room somewhere else in Paris? It seems outlandish, but it’s the only thing that makes sense…” He trailed off when he noticed that Marinette had stopped paying attention, looking as though something horrible had just occurred to her.

“My Lady?” He startled Marinette from her thoughts. He knew that’d get her attention. Considering the blush that rushed to her face, he was right. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Marinette said quickly, not meeting his eyes. “It’s just… surprising what Mr. Agreste did, is all. I really admired him and his designs. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d do this.”

“Try being his son,” Adrien said back, then sighed. “So, what now?”

“Well, if you think he’s somewhere in the mansion, we should go and search it. But, you can’t leave your room without someone to watch you. And I’d certainly be noticed, both as Marinette and Ladybug.”

An idea came to him. “Why don’t we try late tonight?” Marinette looked at him. “Nathalie lives in an in-house apartment on the other side of the mansion. Father’s study isn’t too far from here. You come back late tonight as Ladybug after everyone’s gone to sleep, and we’ll search then. Just, try to avoid the security cameras next time.”

“Right. Sounds like a plan. I should go, before I get caught again,” She said, heading towards the windows. Adrien nodded, and walked over to unlock them.

Marinette paused. “When this is all over, we need to sit down and talk. Figure… this, _us_ out.” Adrien nodded. She watched the security cameras for a bit, figuring out their blind spots. Seeing Marinette this focused on something made her resemblance to Ladybug more obvious it was almost uncanny.

She stepped back from the window, and took a deep breath. “Tikki, transform me!”

A flash of red-white light enveloped her, and there, suddenly, was Ladybug.

“Woah,” Adrien whispered in awe. So that’s what it looked like from the outside. It was so… quick. He felt like it took longer when he transformed. Envy rose in him, as much as he tried to push it down. He missed getting to do that.

Seeing the look on his face, Ladybug pulled him into a hug. “I’ll be back tonight. Just stay strong until then.” Adrien nodded as they pulled apart.

Ladybug checked the cameras once more, pulled out her yoyo, swung it out, and was gone.

* * *

Gabriel Agreste hadn’t been this angry in a long time. Not only had his son disobeyed him and put his safety at risk, but Ladybug had managed to slip away from him! _T_ _wice_! She had been in his own house, just floors below him! He supposed that was a disadvantage to having this room hidden; he couldn’t see any of the other windows on the mansion, and this room was cut off from the security cameras. All of that to keep his secret, and it had allowed his prey to escape.

No matter. There would still be chances to get her Miraculous. And with Adrien forbidden from leaving the house, she wouldn’t have her partner anymore to help.

He’d been trying to avoid thinking about the fact that his own son was Chat Noir. The fact that he’d put so much effort into acquiring something that was in his own house the whole time was almost comical. Except for the fact he had put so much effort into getting it, and his efforts had put his own son in danger. And now that Adrien had contacted Ladybug, she would now know the Miraculous was missing.

The two might figure out who he really was.

Gabriel felt panic rise in him. He was technically his own son’s arch-enemy. If Adrien figured out that he was Hawk Moth, he’d never be able to get him to understand. And Ladybug might figure it out too, especially if she and Adrien are in contact. Gabriel had confiscated Adrien’s phone for a reason, but there was no telling what they had talked about before then.

The idea that Adrien might know Ladybug’s civilian identity came back to him. Come to think of it, the science teacher hadn’t been the first person from Adrien’s school he’d Akumatized. Ladybug had shown up almost immediately, like she’d already been in the building. And, from what he could recall, that was pretty common when the school had been under attack.

Ladybug had to be a student at Adrien’s school, maybe even in his class! Which meant he almost certainly knew her civilian identity. And if he could learn that, well, his goals were closer than he realized. And if he got to Adrien before he got the wrong idea about his plans, he would be more willing to give that information up.

Looks like he was coming home from America early.


	9. Chapter 9

“ _ He spends hours locked in his office. What if he’s in there? Or in some… secret room somewhere else in Paris?” _

The words had started to echo in her head as she finished the conversation with Adrien while Marinette, and continued after she transformed into Ladybug. As she swung through Paris at dusk, the words continued to turn. After everything that had happened today, and what her life had become over the past few months, those words had finally allowed her to piece together the answer to one of her biggest questions: Who was Hawk Moth?

It was Gabriel Agreste, Adrien’s father. 

She found herself double and triple-checking her surroundings as she made her way back home. Hawk Moth could be hidden anywhere; he could be tracking her back to her house at this very moment. He could already know who she was, as she had revealed herself in his own house. And if he knew that, he could already be there, waiting to ambush her.

If he was in her house, where her parents alright? Maybe he’d leave them alone, as they had nothing to do with her being Ladybug. But if he didn’t… 

Stupid,  _ stupid. _ After months of being careful, she dropped her guard once and she may have ruined everything, may have gotten people she loved put in harm’s way.

But that was still a big  _ maybe _ . Hawk Moth could be wherever his hiding place was. Her parents could be totally fine, making dinner and doing prep work for tomorrow’s orders. She tried to steady her breathing as she swung. She had to focus on getting home safely. She’d go in prepared for the worst, but she also had to be mentally sharp enough to deal with the worst.

As she approached her house, Ladybug checked for signs something was amiss, but couldn’t find any. The front door to the bakery level was intact, as were all the windows. The bakery lights were on their typical overnight dim, but the second floor was lit, while her room on the third floor was dark. As she landed on the rooftop terrace, the trap door to her room was shut and locked, just how she left it. Her nerves steadied only slightly.

She debated on if she should de-transform back into Marinette, or stay Ladybug before she entered her room. If she stayed as Ladybug and everything was fine, she risked revealing herself to her parents. But if she went back to Marinette only to find Hawk Moth, she’d be caught defenseless, and still risked revealing herself to her parents so she could transform back.  _If_ she had the time to transform back.

She decided she would be able to bluff her way out of the situation if her parents were fine and caught her as Ladybug, and that was much better than being unable to defend herself against Hawk Moth.

Unable to access her house keys in her Ladybug suit, she grabbed the spare she hid in the table umbrella, unlocked the trap door, and silently entered her bedroom. Quickly, from the perch of her loft bed, she scanned the room for Hawk Moth or any signs of an intruder or struggle. Once that was clear, she, as silently as possible, dropped to the main level of her room and continued to look, checking every possible hiding spot. At the same time, she kept an ear out for any unusual or suspicious noises in the house. She couldn’t hear anything but the muffled sound of the living room television playing the evening news. 

So far, so good. But, one last thing to check. She flicked the lights back on, de-transformed, then called out “Mom? Dad?” The fear leaked into her voice, especially without the power of Ladybug quickly at hand.

Relief filled her as she heard them head up the stairs. But she still didn’t allow herself to fully relax until the both burst into her room through the door in the floor.

“Marinette? Marinette, honey, what’s wrong” The looks of concern they gave her, the way they reacted so quickly, how they were moving to hug her as she stood in shock; it broke whatever dam had been holding back the torrent of emotions inside Marinette. She began to cry as her parents embraced her, sinking to the floor as her knees gave out. It had been such a long day. She was exhausted from the constant transforming and de-transforming, feeling relief hit her that her parents were okay and Hawk Moth hadn’t found out who she was, still reeling from the reveal that Adrien was Chat Noir, anxious over telling him she was Ladybug, and now in shock over her near certainty that Gabriel Agreste,  _ Adrien’s own father _ , was Hawk Moth, the man who’d terrorized Paris for months and nearly killed herself and Adrien, who was his  _ son. _

And Adrien was having a worse day than she. His Miraculous was stolen, he was forced to deal with an Akuma attack powerless, and had gotten in severe trouble due to sneaking out to help. 

And unlike her, he didn’t have anyone to hug him while he cried.

As her crying slowed, her Dad helped her and her Mom to their feet. “Marinette, is everything alright?” He asked her.

“I’m just… a bit shaken and tired from the Akuma attack at school today. I don’t feel very well either.” Neither of those statements were technically lies.

Her Mom put a hand on her forehead. “You don’t feel warm…” She looked at Marinette’s face. “But you certainly need some rest. We’ll make you a bowl of soup, you get into your pyjamas and just rest tonight okay?” Marinette could only nod, and watched as her parents climbed back down to the second floor.

Tikki flew back out into the open from where she had hidden, munching on one of the cookie’s Marinette hid in the room for her. She quickly nuzzled up against Marinette’s face, and stayed there until the sound of Marinette’s parents coming up the stairs drove her to hide again.

With sympathetic glances, her parent’s ushered her to her desk, and set the bowl of soup, piece of baguette, and glass of water in front of her. They took a few steps back, staying there until Marinette ate a few bites.

“Call for us if you need anything else,” Her Dad said as he headed back down.

“We love you, Marinette,” Her Mom added.

“Love you both too,” Marinette said, watching as they left.

Tikki came back out, and sat near the glass of water, a second cookie in her hands. The day surely had wiped her out too. Marinette stared at the bowl of soup sitting on her desk, suddenly unable to touch it. She absentmindedly played with her earrings. No wonder Gabriel Agreste had taken such an interest in them. He’d been after them the whole time. And Adrien probably hadn’t figured it out yet. He would have said something if that thought had occurred to him. It probably seemed impossible to him.

It would have seemed impossible to Marinette a few hours ago, but there was too much evidence now. But not enough for Adrien to look past denial. It would take Gabriel transforming in front of him for Adrien to finally admit it.

He might trust her, though. He trusted Ladybug with his secret during an emergency. He swore that he’d still trust her the same even knowing she was also Marinette. Would he still trust her when she told him this?

“... Did you realize it too, Tikki?” She asked, hoarse. Tikki nodded. She couldn’t read Marinette’s thoughts while Ladybug, but she was still aware of what was happening. She had heard Adrien too, she knew all the facts, and she had come to the same conclusions.

“How am I going to tell him, Tikki?”. Tikki flew closer and laid a comforting hand on hers. “Would Adrien even believe that his father is-?” She couldn’t the name out loud. The fashion designer she’d admired ever since she was small, who’d praised her design and construction in the derby hat contest, who always seemed one step ahead of the rest of the industry, had been Paris’s biggest menace? Was her and Chat Noir’s arch rival? Had, at one point, been this faceless man who seemed full of nothing but hate?

What got Gabriel Agreste to that point?

The whole situation made her stomach turn.

“I don’t know, Marinette,” Tikki’s voice was soft, mournful. “I don’t know how anyone would react to such news. And this now means we have two Miraculous to recover.”

"Right, he uses one as well."

“The Moth Miraculous’ powers, to be precise. It’s supposed to be used to help the holder create soldiers that would fight by their side. But, it’s power’s have been corrupted through hate, and I fear for the Moth Kwami, Nooroo. The way he’s using it’s powers right now… It’s not good for either of them.”

The words hung in the air for a bit. Something then occurred to Marinette. “If he’s already got a Miraculous, why does he want mine and Adrien’s?” 

Tikki looked morose. “If someone wields both the Ladybug and the Black Cat Miraculous at the same time, they’re given god-like powers to grant one wish. Any wish that they would want

“But, there’s a reason they’re kept separate. That power can very easily corrupt the wielder, even when using the powers for a noble purpose. And using that power causes the universe to become unbalanced, just like I was earlier. So the universe will react by forcing an opposing event to occur, to rebalance the universe." She sighed.

“If Gabriel Agreste were to use this power, he would not only become corrupted by its power, but he could unleash something devastating by the wish’s counter-reaction, and not just for Paris.” 

Marinette blanched. “This… This is really, really bad.” She struggled to get words out. “W-what do I do now?…  How do I tell Adrien this?”

“You’ll have to do it gently, and you’ll have to use every piece of evidence you have,” Tikki said. “Which is…”

“That he left the country the same night Adrien’s ring went missing. The fact that Adrien is almost certain he took it. He was one of the only people who had access to Adrien during the time it went missing. That he took a strong interest in his ring and my earrings in the same day. That there’s evidence he might not even have left the country. Adrien didn’t recognize the room he video called from, and he locks himself away for hours at a time. He was oddly calm during the whole Simon Says thing, like he was aware of what was going on,” Marinette sputtered a bit. “And I just… have this feeling, deep in my gut, that says he’s connected in some way.”

The two sat for a moment, unmoving. “I’m still not sure that’s completely convincing,” Marinette finally said.

“You and Adrien have suspected him most of the day.”

“Adrien still won’t believe me.”  
  
“He trusts you. He _loves_ you, Marinette. You may have to work to convince him, but I don’t think he’ll dismiss you right away.”

Marinette found herself brushing tears from her eyes. Adrien  _ did _ love her, and it seemed like such a silly thing to focus on with everything else that had happened that day, but it was true. And she loved him back. And she’ll be sure to tell him, once this nightmare was over. 

“So, now what? I don’t think either of us are ready to go back over there,” Not only was Marinette exhausted, but part of the spending most of the day as Ladybug meant Tikki hadn’t had proper time to rest either.

“You’re right. There’s a chance we could face Hawk Moth directly tonight. We’ll want to be at full strength. Plus, you said you wouldn’t go back to Adrien’s until late,” Tikki said. “Go get some sleep. I’ll wake you up.”

Marinette didn’t need to be told twice. She collapsed onto bed, and was out almost immediately. It felt like no time had passed at all when she woke up to Tikki shaking her. Her alarm clock read ten past two AM. 

Dread and fear filled her as she got up and worked the sleep out of her system. Tonight could be the culmination of months of fighting Akumas and protecting Paris. She might face her arch enemy. And, depending on how things shook out, she’d either be doing it alongside his son, or completely alone.

“You ready, Marinette?” Tikki asked.

“As I’ll ever be. You?” Tikki nodded. No point in pushing it off any longer. “Tikki, transform me!”

Being Ladybug definitely felt much easier than it had earlier. And it filled her with a newfound sense of confidence. She was awake, she was energized, she was ready, no matter how Adrien reacted.

She left her room as quietly as she could to avoid waking her parents, and then went off into the night. Whizzing through the moonlight, she tried to get to Adrien’s without being spotted by anyone out late. Even away from the touristy areas, there could be people milling about at all hours. Ladybug didn’t want to raise any alarm. It was taking her a little bit longer than normal, but it also gave her time to think about how to break the news. Plus, it was nice to delay the inevitable a little more.

She got to Adrien's, and noticed that he’d left his bedroom window open for her. Giving a brief moment to check the security cameras, she quickly swung into the dark room.

“Adrien!” She tried not to call out too loud. “I’m here, and...  there’s something I have to tell you,” She continued as she walked into the room, but stopped short at his bed. It was empty, unmade, and the door to the hallway was open.

Ladybug began to fear she was too late.


End file.
